The Tides of Time
by AmyNChan
Summary: Change is almost never pleasant. We're about to get a dose of it.


_**AmyNChan: *smiles sweetly* This is something very special for a very special group of people. Please note I do not own Phineas and Ferb, and please enjoy what I have to say at the end of this.**_

Phineas Flynn slumped onto his bed. It was an unusual action as the boy typically tended to bound into things—including his bed—headfirst. Ferb Fletcher could only assume something was wrong. As usual, he waited for his brother to out with it. He always did.

However, this time he did not. Phineas merely sat in his bed, thinking very deeply about a certain subject. Minutes stretched into a whole hour where the inventor did not say a word. Ferb looked at his brother in concern. The triangular headed boy had a worried frown on his face, complete with a crease on his forehead and eyes screwed up in concentration.

Ferb shuffled out of his bed and padded over to his brother's side. He placed a hand over his forehead. No fever. Phineas was not sick.

"Ferb? Can I ask your advice?" the red headed inventor asked. Ferb nodded. It was not often, but Phineas did ask for advice from him when he was really uncertain. Usually about what project to do next, what he thought of a certain color or theme, or if he would like to do anything the next day. Usually, though, the Brit turned the questions back to Phineas just to see if he was merely trying to figure out something to do for his brother. Phineas was like that in some ways. He liked to do things for others as much as he enjoyed making the most of each day.

"It's about Isabella… I don't know how much longer I can do this…"

The admission shocked Ferb. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it was not that. He had always expected himself to be guiding his brother through figuring out what love was and that he loved their best friend. However, it sounded like…

"I've known about her crush since school started after the summer we went around the world in one day. I never knew what to do about it and I tried figuring out if I liked her the same way. Ferb, I don't, but I don't know how to tell her without making her sad or upset or mad. She's my best friend, I don't want to lose her but I don't want to lead her on either. What do I do?"

Ferb watched as conflicting emotions flickered across his brother's face. He could already tell that Phineas had gone through painstaking measures to ascertain the truth and that the truth disappointed him. He did not like Isabella romantically and it killed him knowing that it would hurt his best friend. He let his face fall into his hands.

"I can't keep ignoring it. We're thirteen and she's starting to get bolder. Ferb, how do I tell her?"

The Brit considered his brother's plea for help. The most logical thing to do would be to tell her plainly and get it over with as quickly as possible. However, that could hurt her the most as well and Phineas could very well end up losing her. On the other hand, if he were to keep ignoring her she would only be chasing after a daydream. Ferb also knew that Phineas should tell her himself, as sending someone else to tell her would definitely ruin their friendship beyond any sort of repair.

"Phineas, do you want what's best for Isabella?" he asked seriously. Phineas nodded desperately. He may not want to kiss her, but there was no way he wanted to make her cry or hurt her either.

"Then tell her as soon as you can. Tomorrow, if possible," he instructed. Phineas gulped in fear, his face becoming paler by the moment. Ferb looked at him in concern. "Do you want me to stay as moral support?"

Ferb was surprised when Phineas shook his head. "But Ferb? Can I ask a favor?" he asked. Ferb nodded. He knew that these sorts of things would not be easy for his brother, and he knew that telling Isabella his conclusion would make him feel like a wretch. He would do anything to help his brother through it.

"Be there for Isabella if she needs you? I think you're one of the people she trusts the most and she might need you," Phineas admitted. Ferb almost turned him down. What if things did not go smoothly? What if Isabella got ideas? What if having her crush's brother around after her hopes and dreams were crushed only hurt her more?

But seeing his brother's pleading face forced him to nod his head. He would be there for the both of them. As he went to sleep that night, he promised himself.

He would be there for them.

* * *

Ferb sat inside the house with his mother. He had told her what was going on with Phineas and Isabella so she would not pry more than necessary. He saw her face drop when she heard, but he was ever thankful when she did not press him with "is he sure"s or "he just doesn't know love yet"s. It was no secret most of the family had been hoping for the duo to get together, and only one in the family was hoping for something else.

Phineas walked in from the backyard alone. Isabella had been with him not a few moments ago. The boy looked up at Ferb with hurt evident in his eyes.

"She's crying and I can't do anything…" he said softly. Ferb understood his brother's plea and rose to his feet. He would attempt to escort Isabella home. It was more than likely the girl was rejecting Phineas massively after the shock so as not to be hurt. Though after arriving at the back door, Ferb's heart shattered into a million pieces.

He had seen her strong, he had seen her weak. He had seen her upset and jilted. He had seen her at her best and helped her trudge through what he thought was her worst. Not even close.

She sat under the tree, eyes wide in shock and tears flowing freely from her eyes. She was angry, but did not move from her spot. She was absolutely heartbroken and pained and her world had just been shattered. Upon seeing Ferb, she angrily scrubbed at her eyes, scowling all the while.

"What did I do wrong?" she spat, frustrated and hurt. Ferb approached cautiously, listening to her anger. "I was his best friend and I tried so hard to be there for him! I love him and he tells me _now_ that he already knew and he didn't say one _damned_ word all this time! Why would he do that to me? Does he hate me? What did I do wrong to him? Why can't he love me back? Dammit!"

Ferb was shocked at her excessive language, but he kept his surprise to himself. Instead, he reached the hurting girl and stood there for a moment before offering his hand. She looked at it with anger and reservation, as if taking his hand would be the most tragic crime the world had ever known. He wiggled his fingers; reminding her of a conversation they had had months ago. Almost against her will, Isabella cracked a smile and accepted his hand. Ferb began to lead her out of the house, but was surprised when she pulled on his hand to go down the street.

"I don't want to go home…" she said. Rather than point out that her mascara was running and she looked like she had just gone through crap and back, Ferb merely mussed his own hair up and walked down the street with his best friend.

The afternoon was spent like normal teenagers. They went to the mall, challenged each other in the arcade, had a bite to eat—not at the Slushy Dog, though. Isabella did not want to deal with familiar faces who knew of her long-time crush for now—and even saw a movie. _Rise of the Killer Aracnophobe._ It was perfect. They both laughed, both had fun, and both forgot their worries.

Not even an hour into the movie, Ferb found himself staring at Isabella while she laughed, grateful that he could have given her this day. Happy that he had granted Phineas's request to not leave her alone and to be there for her. Glad he had not run for fear of being rebound.

Because if she had kissed him, only heaven knew if he would kiss her back or not. If he would be a gentleman and give her time to think or if he would give in to the crush he himself had been harboring for a year now. He was silently relieved when the day was done and he did not have to worry about her rebound.

Isabella had her hand on the handle of her door, pausing a slight moment. Ferb watched in confusion. She should really get inside. It was getting cold out here.

"Ferb?" she asked, her face hidden. Ferb kept quiet, but knew she was aware he had not left. He waited for her to continue. "Do you think… Do you think…we could…do you think we could do this again sometime?"

Ferb would have nodded, only he knew Isabella would not have seen his reaction. For some reason, her face was hidden behind a curtain of her hair. Ferb resisted the urge to pull it back.

"Yes, I do," he said in a rich voice, filled with an accent that had not diminished over the course of his living in the States. He heard Isabella's chiming giggle and was once more grateful he could have been there to make sure she could smile today.

"Thank you," she whispered. Before Ferb could respond, she whisked herself away inside her house and shut the door. Ferb smiled sadly, knowing that behind closed doors, she would allow herself time to mourn over the loss of her first love.

But he would always be there for her. He had promised Phineas, but even more importantly, he never wanted the girl he loved to be alone. And she never was.

"_Hey, mom, isn't that Aunt Isabella?"_

* * *

_**Grossed out? Sickened? Being a Phinbella lover and instinctively going to hate on this story? Go ahead. Just know it makes you really rather dumb-looking. Hating a story for its pairing is really stupid, and you shouldn't leave hate on it because you didn't like the pairing. I personally am a Phinbella supporter and I had a hard time writing this, but I wanted a point to be made:**_

_**IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A JERK AND HATE ON A STORY BECAUSE OF IT'S PAIRING, THERE IS A LOVELY LITTLE BACK BUTTON AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN YOU CAN CLICK REPEATEDLY. I MEAN IT, TAKE YOUR HATING BUTT ELSEWHERE!**_

_**We are all PnF fans here. If we can't support each other in pursuit of happiness—be it that we support Phinbella, Ferbella, Ferbnessa, Montessa, Phatie, Perryshmirtz, Bujeet, Wenjeet, Ginjeet, BaljeetXthatonechickhehadaromanticcruisewith, Linshmirtz, Canderermy, CandaceXOC, PhineasXOC, FerbXOC, Isaford, Isajeet, PerryXPinky, LindaXLawrence, IsabellaXOC, MonogramXAcronym, PerryXOC, DoofXOC, crossover pairings, Milord (MillieXBuford), DjangoXanyonereally, StacyXColtrane, or anything else—we can't really be a good fandom family. If you don't like it, don't read it, but don't hate on it. And if romance really isn't your thing and you're reading a great action fanfic that suddenly has a pairing you're not sure how to deal with, learn to deal with it. It's their story, not yours. They will give you the action you came for, but they might as well have a little fun of their own, right?**_

_**Honestly, let fanfic writers have their fun. Telling them what to do or how to do it doesn't help anyone, not even you.**_

_**Hope that sinks in, and have a wonderful day. *^_^***_


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